A deep look at a songwriting genius

Leonard Cohen always defied easy categorization. A writer who penned two novels before becoming famous as a singer-songwriter, he was a crooner who loved a well-cut suit, a poet who lived in austerity and a Sabbath-observing Jew who practiced Zen Buddhism. Revelling in seduction as much as solitude, his work was both voluptuous and spare, metaphysical and sensual. Christophe Lebold’s biography does more than embrace these seeming contradictions; the contradictions, in fact, are the point. We all contain multitudes, and Cohen’s writing, Lebold tells us, “restores us to the full weight of our lives.” First published in French in 2013, this deep philosophical analysis of Cohen’s six-decade career is finally being released in English and in audio for the first time. As Cohen said upon the book’s release three years before his death, “I am deeply respectful of the mind that has produced this book.” —Phoebe N.

Liane Moriarty always keeps me guessing

Between character, setting and plot, I’m pretty much always a character person. And while the characters in Here One Moment are each fascinating and complex in their own right, I was blown away by Liane Moriarty’s plotting. The narrative is so intricately layered, each detail so carefully placed, that it left me awestruck. Our central character, Cherry, is on a flight when she stands up and proceeds to predict the age of death and cause of death for the passengers on-board. What unfolds from there is a riveting and chaotic meditation on free will versus fate as the passengers deal with the predictions in different ways once back in their real lives. It’s a compulsive listen, performed by Moriarty’s longtime collaborator Caroline Lee as Cherry and Geraldine Hakewell as the other passengers, and one I will be recommending for the rest of the year. —Katie O.

Sally Rooney raises her game

We may not be getting bucket hats this time, but a new Sally Rooney novel is still an EVENT. And Intermezzo is much more than a must-have accessory, though you’ll see it everywhere this fall. If you’ve been pining for Sally’s liquid sentences and diamond insights, here they are, this time in a tale of two brothers: Peter, a dashing early-thirtysomething who “goes along the surface of life very smoothly” according to Ivan, younger by a decade, a neurodiverse chess prodigy a bit past his prime – both of them navigating romances while facing the recent death of their father. I’m inhaling the vivid scenes and blasé bombshells – “Plain, unappealing people are by no means exempt from the experience of strong passions,” muses Ivan, for one. This is also a first-time departure from Rooney’s signature narrator, Aoife McMahon. I will always love Aoife, but man, Éanna Hardwicke, who you know as Rob from TV’s Normal People, is the perfect voice for this novel: intelligent, charismatic and (yes!) demurely sexy as only Irish men know how. Well played, all around. —Kat J.

A synthesis of human history, for the AI age

Though you don’t need to have listened to Sapiens or Homo Deus to enjoy Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari’s latest feels like a logical continuation of his previous explorations of human history. Harari once again excels at distilling thousands of years of history into accessible observations that simultaneously feel both obvious and revelatory, this time performed by Vidish Athavale. From the oral storytelling of our past, to the audiobooks and podcasts of our present and the AI of our future, Harari shows how we’re on the precipice of another great (but potentially devastating) cultural and technological shift in information sharing – alongside some potential solutions to ensure that we continue to harness tech and information to our benefit, rather than our detriment. —Michael C.

Skin deep

My skin is brown, the color of almonds (I did a side-by-side.) Every day, from morning to evening, that is how the world sees me. There is no doubt of my race, I can effortlessly check the Black box. In Danzy Senna’s must-listen audiobook, Colored Television, by the time you finish you will understand just about everything you need to know about mulattos. That’s what people who have a white parent and a Black parent are called, a word that in some circles is controversial. Mulattos often have to announce themselves, or as Senna, a mulatto, once said in an interview, she’s had to become comfortable making people uncomfortable because they don’t see her Blackness. In Colored Television, Senna exposes, explores and excites the listener with life, through Jane, a mulatto writer who has completed a major book on race. Jane’s husband, Lenny, refers to it as the “mulatto War and Peace.” It’s a hard sell. Rejection sends her to Hollywood, where she’s considered and respected by one producer as a “real writer.” Senna is a great writer. She seasons the story generously with laughter, clever word play and cold hard facts that don’t seem so bad when the writing is so good. Kristen Ariza narrates effortlessly as if she wrote the book. What it is, I think, is that she got the message. —Yvonne D.

A retired detective, a kick-ass bodyguard and a cat named Trouble

I always feel a dash of anxiety when one of my favourite authors kicks off something totally new, but this fantastic new series starter from Richard Osman does not disappoint. There are some familiar tropes at play: retiree Steve Wheeler dabbling in investigatory work, a diverse cast of characters who come together over pints and trivia. But he ups the ante with Steve's daughter-in-law Amy, a truly hardcore veteran-turned-bodyguard who works for an elite protection contractor. And the murders these two find themselves needing to solve are epic and global in scale. In true Osman form, the dialogue is punchy, fast-paced and smart, making this listen completely impossible to put down thanks to Nicola Walker's adroit and vibrant narration. —Emily C.

More than a character

Confession: As a Gilmore Girls fan, I downloaded Tony Award-winning actress Kelly Bishop’s memoir because I was curious to know about her time on the Gilmore Girls set. What I instead listened to, and fell in love with, was a beautiful story of resilience, grief, love and the importance of staying true to yourself. From insights into her upbringing, to her marriages, falling in love with dance and originating the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line, listeners learn about the best (and worst) moments of Bishop’s often-remarkable life (Gilmore Girls included). Her narration was delightfully intimate, and made me feel like I was sitting back and recounting memories with a friend. The Third Gilmore Girl is my favourite memoir of the year and has left me excited to see what Kelly Bishop does next! —Patty R.

Revisiting a fantasy gateway

The His Dark Materials series occupies a special place in my fantasy origin story. It’s been years since I revisited the classic, but I’m now counting the days until I get to do so, starting with this new performance by Ruth Wilson, who so brilliantly embodies antagonist Mrs. Coulter in the BBC adaptation. While the multicast performance will always have a place in my heart, I also believe there are countless ways to engage in your favourite fandoms, and I’m excited to hear what the acclaimed actress will do with the story. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass will follow early next year –a perfect treat as we usher in the cold, dark magic of winter. —Sam D.

A fitting finale

It’s been a long while since author and screenwriter Attica Locke has graced us with her elegant and evocative prose – five years to be exact – but Guide Me Home was well worth the wait. In the final novel of Locke’s Highway 59 trilogy, former Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is pulled out of early retirement by his estranged mother to investigate the disappearance of a Black college student in an all-white sorority. The case takes Mathews back along Highway 59, deep into East Texas, eventually landing him in the mysterious town where the student’s family resides, and where nothing is as it seems. Set against the backdrop of 2019’s contentious political climate, Mathews’s story is soulfully guided to a fitting end by narrator JD Jackson, one that is filled with heartache and pain, but also reconciliation and redemption. —Margaret H.

Finding con-fidence

Before this audiobook, I firmly believed that, beyond being immoral, the lifestyle of a professional con artist would be far too glamourous and risqué for me to ever pull off. However, humour can go a long way in changing one’s mind, and with her contagious laughter, podcaster Laci Mosley immediately sold me on her theory that all it takes is a bit of con-fidence to fake it till you make it – especially in a world that is just one big scam to begin with. This subversive essay collection dares to ask: “If there are no ethical choices under capitalism, why not be a scammer?” It certainly raises several compelling points about how unfair our world can be by the nature of its design. But, above all else, the giddy sense of empowerment that shines through Mosley's voice as she shares her lifelong commitment to fostering a “make your own rules” kind of freedom is truly infectious. —Haley H.

Wilde family dynamics

With keen dialogue, cutting humour and historical prowess, author Louis Bayard delivers a profoundly empathetic imagining of Oscar Wilde’s family and the aftermath of the famous playwright’s imprisonment for homosexuality. Before listening to The Wildes, I knew next to nothing about Wilde's wife, Constance, and their sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. Told against the backdrop of Victorian England and World War I, and beautifully performed by narrators Elisabeth Rodgers, Damian Lynch and P.J. Ochlan, it left me deeply sympathetic to the struggles of those closest to this wildly talented and complicated man. —Tricia F.

Don’t dismiss your second act

Recently widowed, Grace Winters finds herself without much to look forward to in retirement. Her days and weeks are monotonous, until she’s unexpectedly contacted by a solicitor. A former coworker, to whom she once bestowed a kindness over the holidays, has died and left Grace her home in Ibiza. She books a one-way ticket to Spain and the magic unfolds from there. The novel is told via emails that Grace is writing to a former student who’s grappling with their own tragedy, and the wisdom (and later whimsy) she conveys flows through Joanna Lumley’s performance. The Life Impossible is both mystical and a deeply human story; a manifesto to not write the end of your own story too soon. I am still revelling in the beauty of the narrative. —K.O.